Betta Fish or Siamese Fighting Fish

Betta Fish, aka Siamese Fighting Fish, are a popular starter fish
for many people. They are colorful and easy to care for, that
is if you know how. The proper care of Betta Fish is essential
to it’s health and livelihood. Most people see them in stores
in small bowls and think that is how they can be kept, but that
is not true. While that is a great way for the stores to display
and sell them, since males must be kept by themselves and tend
to be the more popular betta fish gender due to their colorful
finange, it is not a long term solution for living conditions
of the Betta Fish.

Tank Requirements

Betta Fish should be kept in a tank
that is a minimum of 2.5 gallons, but if you really want to see
it thrive, it should be kept in a 5 gallon tank or larger with
a heater and filter. If you will be adding other tankmates, you
will want a larger tank. Betta Fish like warm water so ideally
the temperature should be between 76-82 degrees. It is best to
keep betta tanks simple in design and use live plants since plastic
plants and decorations can have rough edges and easily ruin the
fins of the beta fish.

Before you buy your betta fish, it is best to set up your tank
and have the water conditions ready to go. Even though betta fish
are hardy, they will live longer if you properly care for the
tank and make sure the water conditions are ideal. Tap water is
best since distilled water removes important minerals from the
water that are essential to fish survival. It is important to
use a water conditioner though to remove the harmful chlorine
and other chemicals that are dangerous to the fish.

Dealing with Aggression

Because the male betta fish is aggressive,
it should be kept separate from other betta fish in most situations,
and is usually best to be kept separate from other fish in general,
especially smaller fish. Female betta fish are usually smaller
in size and less aggressive, but not always. If they are docile,
you can have three or more females in a tank together.

Doing a water change is simple, but can require the most manual
labor of all the maintenance processes. you will use a gravel
vacuum to syphon the waste from within the gravel, and suck the
waste and the aquarium water into buckets. These buckets of old
water can be dumped down the drain or the toilet. Then you will
want to fill the buckets up with tap water as close to the aquarium
temperature as possible, add the dechlorinator and aquarium salt
you used when first setting up the aquarium, mix the buckets and
pour them into the aquarium.

Keeping a Happy and Healthy Betta Fish

To keep your Betta fish happy and
healthy it is important to do a weekly water exchange. Ideally,
you only need to remove 10% of the water and replace with clean
water of the same temperature, but a few times a year you will
want to throughly clean the tank and do a 50% water exchange.
Never use soups to clean your tank and be sure to rinse your
rocks well. When cleaning the tank, be sure to keep your betta
in a separate container with some of the old tank water in it.
Always use a water declorinator to remove harmful chemicals
from the fresh water.

You must also learn to feed your fish properly if you want it
to be happy and healthy. Betta fish love frozen brine shrimp
and bloodworms, but some people prefer to feed them betta pellets.
Ideally it is best to feed them a few times throughout the day,
but if schedules do not allow, at least morning and evening.
Only feed them enough food that they can consume in ten minutes.
If any food remains in the tank, be sure to remove it to prevent
disease. Also note, because betta fish are top feeders, be sure
they know the food is coming so it doesn’t all sink to the bottom.

Following these simple guidelines will usually help your Betta
Fish live long and prosper:) Thus ensuring not only the happiness
of the fish, but the owners as well, who will then hopefully
become life long aquarium finatics!